What Is the FCC Covered List? Prohibitions and Penalties

The FCC Covered List is the federal government’s roster of communications equipment and services considered an unacceptable national security risk. Anything on it is blocked from new FCC equipment authorization, cut off from federal subsidies, and off-limits to federal contractors, even when the equipment sits in the contractor’s own back office rather than in anything sold to the government. The list currently names roughly a dozen entities, nearly all tied to the Chinese or Russian governments, and it is updated periodically by the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau.¹

Who and What Is on the List

As of its most recent update on January 7, 2026, the Covered List includes the following entities, along with their subsidiaries and affiliates:¹

Huawei Technologies Company — telecommunications equipment and related services.
ZTE Corporation — telecommunications equipment and related services.
Hytera Communications Corporation — video surveillance and telecommunications equipment, limited in scope.
Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company — same limited scope.
Dahua Technology Company — same limited scope.
AO Kaspersky Lab — information security products, solutions, and services.
China Mobile International USA Inc. — international telecommunications services.
China Telecom (Americas) Corp. — telecommunications services.
Pacific Network Corp. and its subsidiary ComNet (USA) LLC — added in September 2022.²
China Unicom (Americas) Operations Limited — added in September 2022.²

Not every listing is total. Huawei and ZTE are covered across all telecommunications equipment they make. Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua are covered only when their gear is used for public safety, government facility security, physical surveillance of critical infrastructure, or other national security purposes.¹ The same Hikvision camera can fall inside the prohibition when it watches a government building’s entrance and outside it when it watches a private retail floor. The boundaries of terms like “critical infrastructure” have been contested; the D.C. Circuit vacated one FCC definition, leaving the exact edges unsettled.³

How Something Gets on the List

The FCC does not make its own national security judgments. The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau adds equipment or services based on determinations from executive branch bodies with security expertise, such as the Federal Acquisition Security Council, or from national security agencies.⁴ To qualify, the equipment must come from an entity determined to pose a risk and must be capable of routing or redirecting user data traffic, allowing remote access to user data, or permitting remote disruption of a provider’s network.⁵ The authority comes from the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 1601.

What a Listing Legally Prohibits

New FCC Authorization and U.S. Sales

The FCC will not grant new equipment authorizations for products on the Covered List. Because virtually all radio-frequency devices need FCC authorization before they can be sold in the United States, this blocks new models from covered entities out of the American market. The FCC can also revoke or limit authorizations that were previously granted, cutting off continued importation and sales.³

“Marketing” is defined broadly under FCC rules. It includes selling, leasing, offering for sale or lease, advertising, importing, shipping, and distributing for the purpose of selling.⁶ Retailers, distributors, online sellers, and drop-shippers all face potential liability for moving covered equipment once its authorization has been limited or revoked.

Under a rule that took effect December 26, 2025, the FCC also prohibits authorization of any device that incorporates a modular transmitter from a covered entity, even if that transmitter had been authorized on its own. Applicants must attest that their products do not contain such components.⁷

Federal Subsidies

No federal funds, including money from the Universal Service Fund, may be used to buy, lease, or maintain equipment or services from listed entities. Carriers that installed covered equipment using federal subsidies must remove it entirely through the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, commonly called rip-and-replace. Only providers serving 2 million or fewer customers qualify.⁸

After Congress authorized the FCC in December 2024 to borrow up to $3.08 billion from the Treasury to fully fund the program, the FCC disbursed additional funding to all active Priority 1 recipients beginning May 8, 2025. That triggered a hard deadline: all Priority 1 recipients must complete the permanent removal, replacement, and disposal of covered equipment by May 8, 2026, and file a final certification (FCC Form 5640 Part M) within 10 days after that date.⁹

Federal Contracting

Section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 reaches every business that contracts with the federal government, implemented through Federal Acquisition Regulation clause 52.204-25.¹⁰ Two prohibitions apply:

Since August 13, 2019, contractors cannot provide the government with any system that uses covered telecommunications equipment as a substantial or essential component.
Since August 13, 2020, executive agencies cannot contract with any entity that uses covered equipment anywhere in its operations, even when the covered equipment has nothing to do with the government contract itself.¹¹

A company running Hikvision cameras in its own office lobby can lose eligibility for federal contracts under the second prohibition. If a contractor finds covered equipment in its systems during contract performance, it must report it to the contracting officer within one business day, with a more detailed mitigation report due within 10 business days. These requirements flow down to subcontractors at every tier.¹⁰

Penalties

The FCC can pursue enforcement actions under Section 302(b) of the Communications Act against anyone who manufactures, imports, sells, or uses non-compliant devices, and can revoke equipment authorizations.¹²

Monetary penalties depend on the entity type. Under the FCC’s current inflation-adjusted forfeiture schedule, a common carrier faces fines of up to $251,322 per violation or per day of a continuing violation, capped at $2,513,215 for a single continuing act. Broadcast licensees and cable operators face up to $62,829 per violation per day, capped at $628,305 per continuing violation. The figures are adjusted annually for inflation.¹³

For federal contractors, the practical consequences reach past FCC fines: contract termination, suspension, and debarment from future government contracting are all on the table for Section 889 non-compliance.

What the Rules Do Not Require

The authorization and marketing ban applies to new sales and new importation. The FCC has stated that limiting a previously granted authorization does not prohibit continued operation or use of devices already purchased.³ A consumer who already owns a Hikvision camera is not required to destroy it. The prohibition targets the supply chain, not what individuals already have in hand. The federal contractor rules are a separate matter: a business bidding on federal work must inventory what it uses in its own operations, regardless of when it was bought.

Staying Current

The Covered List is not static. New entities and product categories have been added multiple times since its initial 2021 publication, and the FCC continues to expand both the list and the rules enforcing it. The current version is maintained on the FCC’s website and is the authoritative reference for compliance checks.¹

1
Federal Communications Commission. List of Equipment and Services Covered By Section 2 of The Secure Networks Act
2
Federal Communications Commission. FCC Expands List of Communications Equipment and Services That Pose a Threat to National Security
3
Federal Communications Commission. Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain Through the Equipment Authorization Program Second Report and Order and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
4
eCFR. 47 CFR 1.50002 – Covered List
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 U.S.C. Chapter 15 – Secure and Trusted Communications Networks
6
eCFR. 47 CFR 2.803 – Marketing of Radio Frequency Devices Prior to Equipment Authorization
7
Federal Register. Protecting Against National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain Through the Equipment Authorization Program
8
Federal Communications Commission. Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program Sixth Report
9
Federal Communications Commission. Wireline Competition Bureau Reminds Priority 1 Rip-and-Replace Program Recipients of Their May 8, 2026 Removal, Replacement, and Disposal Deadline
10
eCFR. 48 CFR 52.204-25 – Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment
11
Acquisition.GOV. Section 889 Policies
12
Federal Communications Commission. Equipment Marketing Violations
13
Federal Communications Commission. Amendment of Section 1.80(b) of the Commissions Rules, Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties to Reflect Inflation